The Universe
by White and Black Shadow
Summary: Harry had discovered that he wasn't aging. After his friends die, he will go on to live with Death and become her Master. While working for Death, his will cross paths with the Avengers and Loki.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended.

A/N: I have rewritten this story with the help of my beta. The idea stays the same though. I hope you like it.

Thanks to my wonderful beta, Zyzyax.

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

It was a few years after the Battle of Hogwarts. Harry worriedly checked the mirror once again. After a few months, he was concerned. After a few years, he outright knew he wasn't aging. People were beginning to get suspicious. The Unspeakables would want to dissect him more than they already did. He had left the Aurors because of that. Seriously, as a head Auror, he had gotten more new Unspeakables to his Auror corp than real Aurors. After dosing the fourteenth Auror who he suspected of spying on him with veritaserum, he had come across an Unspeakable - He had finally given up and resigned. It wasn't a hard choice, he had become an Auror to avoid them being corrupted and to catch the last remaining Death Eaters. A few months later Ron had resigned too, it just hadn't been the same without Harry, also the Unspeakables were starting to tire him out. Always spying on him because of Harry and because of his so-called knowledge about Tom Riddle.

After resigning as an Auror, he had sometimes felt invisible eyes on him, like somebody was watching him. The logical conclusion was that the Unspeakables were still spying on him, so he decided to visit Fleur and Bill in France. Bill was still working as a curse breaker and Fleur had taken up to warding. When they heard of his worries they were more than happy to help. Still, they had suggested for him to leave Britain, just in case someone decided that he was too powerful to live freely and tried to lock him up. Harry refused though, Britain was still home, despite the war and the trouble with the ministry. He wanted his children to go to Hogwarts, feel the magic inside the castle, see what he had called home in his teen years, and perhaps even now.

Once again he checked the mirror in frustration. There were no aging marks on his face or anywhere else. Every one of his friends showed aging marks. Wizards had a longer lifespan than muggles, but he was reaching the limit, he was twenty-five and looked like his seventeen-year-old-self stepped out of a history book. Speaking of books, he was fortunate that the goblins had put copyrights to everything involving him. If anyone wanted to print anything about him, they would need to show him the work before publishing it. It was the horror of what had been printed about him after surviving the killing curse as a baby. He had been watching himself in the mirror for longer than necessary as if hoping he would start showing marks of a twenty-five-year-old man. Harry was known as a powerful wizard and therefore his appearance was put off as a sign of his power, as it was known fact that the slower people aged, the more powerful the person was. But his looks were starting to raise eyebrows. Who looked seventeen when they were twenty-five?

Harry started working out, hoping to get his appearance to at least twenty-years-old until he managed to find a solution to this problem. He was so worried about his appearance that he didn't first realize when the shadows around him begin to comfort him. Harry started to melt into them, nobody could see him when he stayed in the comfort of shadows. He first noticed his odd behavior when he took to visiting the graveyards more often than usual, but the feeling of peace he felt there scared him. At first, he thought it was a coincidence, that the war had affected him more than he realized, but the chilling pattern (in his mind) stayed. He worked out hard every day and started to see effects, he was more muscular and looked like a nineteen-year-old, not his final goal, but almost there. He researched his feelings of shadows and graveyards. Coming to one conclusion - death. In the beginning, he was afraid he was a necromancer. Oh, that would be a great joke, The Chosen One as a necromancer. But that fear had quickly passed when he came across an old text from his family library. A daily diary of Ignotus Peverell. It was well worn, half of the pages were gone, and the other half was barely legible if he was lucky.

O2.11.1269

 _Dear Diary,_

 _We fought a dragon today. My brother Cadmus got badly hurt. To heal him, we had to bind him as he could not stay still. It was horrific, but it all changed as he took the stone to his hand. He calmed instantly. This stone is wonderful! ..._

A lot of pages were unreadable or in some unknown language or languages. As it was not on a topic Harry was researching, he decided to put the book in the to the interesting books pile and move on. When he stood up he accidentally nudged the pile and it went flying over the floor. As he was going to levitate them back the table he saw that the diary of Ignotus Peverell had opened as he could not hold his curiosity back when he took the book and read.

 _..._

 _The resurrection stone, as my brother named it, is scaring me. It has started to draw people's magic to it. My brother has this faraway look on his face when he is holding it. As if he was somewhere else. I tried to get him to part with it, but he refused._

 _..._

 _Antioch is changing_

 _..._

 _As the days pass, Antioch is getting more and more arrogant. As for Cadmus, he wouldn't leave the Resurrection Stone. Should I leave the Cloak of Invisibility before it starts affecting me?_

 _.._

 _It's too late. Shadows are dancing around us. They are chilling, cold. Cadmus doesn't feel anything. He always wears this faraway smile on his face, you could hit him and he would still smile and not even notice you. Antioch makes speeches all the time about his wand._

 _..._

 _Antioch has fallen_

 _..._

 _The shadows are getting larger. They're even in the desert. The only time I can be at peace is when I wear the cloak. I wish I could give it away, but every time I try, I choose to do something else._

There were no legible entries after that. But Harry had read enough to know what was happening. But there was a question. Ignotus Peverell had felt cold and chill in the closeness of shadows. But for him, it was a comfort, home even. Unless... There was a whisper in his mind, "Is the legend true? Could there ever be a Master of Death?"

Harry didn't expect an answer but it came anyway. "The legend has both the truth and lies, but the title, Master of Death, exists as you are currently the holder of it, Master." called a figure with an ice-cold voice. The figure stepped out of the shadows. She was wearing black, her face was completely shadowed by the cloak, only her white hair and yellow eyes were to be seen. There was a silence as Harry was inspecting Death.

"Take the Hallows with you and leave me alone," pleaded Harry coming out of his stupor, his voice still weak from the shock.

"That does not make you mortal, as I believe was your plan. You still would be a Master of Death. You can not run away from your heritage, Master"

"Then ignore it. I won't be lording over you and you would leave me to be." Harry tried to sound demanding and not desperate like he was.

"You can not run from me. The magic of Hallows has been mixing with yours. You like the graveyards, don't you, Master?"

"At least let me have my life with my friends, with normal aging, I will do what you want. Whatever you want. Just please let me grow old with them." Harry knew he was begging, but he didn't care. He had fought a war for his future, he wasn't going to give it up. His chance for a family, for a normal life as normal as his life, could be.

"Certainly. One lifetime is insignificant in terms of eternity." Insignificant to you was Harry's rather uncharitable thought. As if Death could sense his thoughts. "Don't get too attached. It will only make leaving harder," was said in a low dangerous voice before Death melted into the shadows. Death whispered in his thoughts.

"Yes"

The years had past and true to Death's word, Harry had aged normally. True to the Death's warning, Harry hadn't gotten attached to anybody other than those that had been his friends in Hogwarts years: Neville, Luna, Hermione, and Ron. It had been a rather short list and now Death had claimed them all. Neville had been first when he and Luna had been traveling around the word he had met an unknown plant which had taken his life. Luna had returned to Britain and lived her last living years with Harry, to Ginny's great displeasure. Hermione had been next, she had worked for the ministry and made significant gains in rights for creatures, particularly house elves, on her way home she had been killed by one of Tom Riddle's old supporters. Ron had felt responsible for her death, figuring if he had not retired as an Auror, maybe the supporter would have been locked up. Harry had tried to help his friend in his grief as Luna had helped him after Neville's death explaining and repeating that death was a natural part of life. Ron hadn't comprehended it, and he had become an Auror once more and paid for Hermione's death, after that he had drifted away rather quickly.

Even Ginny had not made it. Ginny had changed with the war, but not as much as Harry. Ginny could not understand Harry as the friends who were there with him from the beginning to the end. Even for his friends, it had been difficult. Harry's aging had not changed his love for shadows and graveyards. With time he had been able to not depend on shadows as he finally realized what had happened to the brothers. Dancing shadows had been their magic with Death's magic as it grew larger and could not sustain inside of him and had been hiding inside shadows. Their mortal bodies had been too weak for the magic of Death.

Other than being good friends with Neville, Luna, Hermione, and Ron, he had been a (mostly) good friend to his children. He listened and explained things that the community didn't want them to know, as Ginny had stayed fairy light-minded and was still resentful towards the grey and dark areas of magic. At least his children loved him for speaking to them as their equal, not as a superior. They knew they could come to him whenever they had a problem or needed somebody to listen to them, he had made sure of it. Perhaps it had been why they had been so understanding when he told them after Ron's death he couldn't stay, because of a deal he had made a long time ago. The grandchildren had been sad, but understanding as well, but a deal was a deal. It still made him sad though. Harry took one last long look at his friends' graves before turning around and closing his eyes. A voice whispered in his thoughts, "Are you ready, Master?" It was the cold, clear voice of Death. Harry answered. "Yes."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended.

Thanks to my wonderful beta, Zyzyax.

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

Everything went black. For a while, he saw nothing. Harry felt like he was flying through the cold air at night. He wasn't sure how long it lasted, but he finally started seeing something in the distance. A cold white light was shining. When he got closer to the light, he started to realize that it was actually a planet. A planet that he was rapidly approaching. Harry started to panic, afraid that he would collide with the planet because he wasn't slowing down. As he approached, Harry started to see the features of the planet and was still not slowing down. When he began to see a castle, he finally began to slow down. Harry let out a sigh of relief and then started to study the landscape.

The first thing that caught his attention was a dark green castle with many towers. Near the castle was a garden. In the opposite direction, there was a lake and in the center of the lake was a small island. At this distance, Harry could only see trees. He landed, gradually slowing down until he gently touched down on the grass. Harry's legs trembled for a moment and he almost lost his balance. He looked at his surroundings; it seemed there was nobody who could see him. Harry paused. He was in a foreign land that he didn't recognize and he had no idea where he was supposed to go. The only thing he did know was that the Death had sent him here and it wasn't at all helpful. He didn't even know if Death would approach him or not.

One option would be staying here and waiting, perhaps someone would come here – that would be boring and there was still a chance that he would die before anyone would notice him. The other option was to start walking in some direction and hope that he would meet someone on his way. But which direction would be the best choice? The hope of finding someone in the wood would be minimal, assuming people actually lived in them, of course. Getting lost was the likely result of that option. Then, there was the castle or the lake, with the castle, there was a big chance of someone getting angry at him for disturbing him. Most likely, someone important. At best they might not be angry at him or worse they could throw him in prison. Even if he had a wand, there was still a chance that it would be useless against an unknown force. What if there was something immune to magic out there? Memories of Voldemort made him cautious. His final option was the lake, but there did not seem to be any living creatures. I sound like Hermione, he thought and decided to try his luck with the castle.

He began walking towards the castle. At the door, he stopped for a moment, wondering if it would be wiser to just walk in or knock before walking in. Harry knocked on the door and then opened it. It couldn't hurt to be polite, right? He was in a huge hall, where there were a lot of statues and paintings. The lighter statues contrasted greatly with the darker walls of the castle. Harry hadn't much cared for such things in his life, but the place was tastefully decorated in a regal sort of way. It seemed like the kind of place he might imagine Draco growing up or living in. Whoever owned this definitely had or used to have money. Harry was rather absorbed in the paintings and statuary. They were actually rather interesting, even if he knew nothing about art. The most he could tell you was that they were on the older side. At the end of it, there was a throne and someone was sitting patiently on it while Harry studied his surroundings.

When Harry finally noticed the figure, he cursed himself for not looking straight ahead. He slowly approached the figure. Who were they? Would they blast him to dust if he approached too quickly? Were they magic, muggle, or something else entirely? Should he speak? The figure was dressed in a black cloak that was so large that even their face could not be seen. Harry could honestly say that he knew next to nothing about what would happen next or even what should happen next. Was he dead? Should he look for Death? Was there something keeping him alive? Harry vaguely remembered that Hermione mentioned there was no oxygen in space when Ron had asked why people would have trouble surviving there. There had been some article about trying to make a broom that would go into space. Harry directed his attention back to the present.

Harry stopped a few meters before the throne and bowed slowly to the figure, whose energy was so strong that he got a headache because of it. Even Voldemort and Dumbledore hadn't quite had this effect on him. Whoever or whatever this was, they were powerful. At that, the figure rose and said, "There is no need for that, my Master." Harry thought he should be surprised, but he really wasn't now that he thought about it. A dark palace and a black robe were a little cliché, weren't they? He quickly shut down that line of thought. And directed his attention back to the figure.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended.

Thanks to my wonderful beta, Zyzyax.

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

Harry opened his eyes. He was on a cold stone floor. He rubbed his head wondering what had happened. He remembered Death telling him not to bow, but he could not imagine why he was on the floor. Perhaps he had fainted? He hadn't been one for that in the past life unless there were Dementors around. Death, maybe?

"In the beginning, my energy may be a little bit too much for you, but that should go away in time, my Master," said Death.

"Where am I?" That was the first question that came to Harry's mind.

"In your new home," answered Death, deadly serious.

Harry groaned. This wasn't helping at all. "What do you want?"

"You already know that."

"You want me to become the Master of Death?" asked Harry.

"Yes," at that word, Harry collapsed.

…

Harry woke up. He was in a room that he didn't recognize. It wasn't dim, but it wasn't bright, either. The bed was not soft or hard. Harry looked beside him and saw Death. This time Death wasn't wearing her cloak. She had a white long hear and yellow eyes, as he had seen them before, but to see the whole picture together was different. Harry stared at Death. He had known that Death was female, but he had never seen her face. Somehow, he had thought it would be different. He wasn't sure what or who he was expecting, but this wasn't it.

"My powers will exhaust you sometimes." Death said, more kindly than Harry had thought she would. Especially since the last time they had spoken, she hadn't shown any emotion at all.

"What do I have to do now?" Harry's voice trembled at that question. He was still weak because of Death's powers.

"First, you are going to rest." Death's voice stayed gentle.

"Why are your powers affecting me so much." Harry groaned as he started to feel the pain again.

My powers will exhaust you because they are meant for the dead and almost dead. Even in the god council, which I need to attend, I usually make an illusion, otherwise, my powers are too strong, even for them. As my Master, you will be one of the few that are really in contact with me, instead of an illusion."

Harry closed his eyes. The memories of war surrounded him. The pain and loss. He felt Death's hand on his right shoulder. Harry opened his eyes with a gasp. Death looked at him with serious eyes, "You will have to let go of your past. You may learn from it, but that should have no effect on you. The job of the Master of Death will not be easy. That is why you need to understand death before you get started with it. I think that your friend Luna explained those things to you. It is time to fully accept them."

"I have accepted them," argued Harry.

"If you would have, my energy would not bring you pain, only exhaustion. I will take my leave now, as I have job to do. When you wake up, there is a to-do list for you in the library. I expect you to get started with it then."

Harry opened the mouth to ask where the library was, but the Death was already gone. Harry sighed. He would probably have to search for it without directions. Harry fell back into the darkness. The bed really seemed to call to him in that moment.

...

Harry opened his eyes. He had seen Sirius in his dream. The day when he had died. He had thought he had gotten over it by now, but the feelings that surrounded the memory said otherwise. Harry had not had such dreams for years. Of course, he had once had friends for it, but now he was surrounded by death, but however comforting it was, it didn't make up for having his friends with him. It seemed to make death only stronger and with it came the memories of death. Since he had lost so many people, his memories were full of death. But then, everything died in the end.

Harry sighed and made his way out of the room. He was quite curious what Death wanted him to do. Harry just hoped that the castle was not a huge labyrinth where it was easy to get lost. He especially hoped that he would not accidentally barge into some forbidden room or rooms. As curious as he might be about the castle, it was best not to get killed on the first day, especially when he had no idea what things could be found in that castle.

He opened the door. There were three ways to go and it seemed those scattered after about two meters. "Of course, when was my life easy?" Hary started walking right, then left… He really didn't care where he went. Harry just hoped he would find the library by accident or coincidence.

After walking for two hours, he stopped. There was no way he could just find it accidentally in this place. He wished he had a wand; the point me spell Hermione had taught him would show him the way. In a way, it was almost like his early Hogwarts years, only darker, calmer and without excitement. This truly looked like a place where purebloods would live. Only the peacefulness and acceptance separated it from that feeling. Purebloods would only recognize one of their own. The elegance was stranger to Harry, never having lived in such place. With Ginny, he and his family had lived in a cottage, which had been surrounded by forest. He had not taken up to living one of the Potters manors simply because of its elegant and status-conscious nature. It had screamed of a rich and fussy place. This castle had the elegance of a pureblood, but at the same time was understanding and accepting. He could even think about starting to like this place. His magic was in tune with it. But before that, he would have …

His thoughts were disturbed by irritated voice, "Why do I always get lost in this castle?"

Harry quickly glanced towards the voice and was about to hide when the unknown person asked, "Where can I find Death's study?"

Harry answered, having been alerted to the presence too late to hide. He had no idea who was in front of him or where the Death's study was. "In this castle, I suppose," Harry answered cheekily before he could come to his senses. He had no wand, didn't know his surroundings well, had no clue who had been asking the question, and he didn't have the sense to be at least polite and say he didn't know. Harry figured there might be a reason the Hermione was considered the diplomatic one of the group.

"Of course it is, I would not step inside this castle otherwise. First, you have to find the Death's study and then you have to find your way back," answered a grumpy female voice. Harry honestly couldn't tell where it was coming from.

"Do you have any idea where the library is?" asked Harry trying to get out of the situation before it could become a problem. And frankly, someone who visited before might have a clue.

The figure frowned "You will find the library when you turn left, then right, then three times left and then choose the biggest door on your right-hand side if I remember correctly. This place is a maze."

"Thanks." He said awkwardly and hurried off, silently agreeing with the unknown figure. It was as bad as Hogwarts, even without moving staircases and man-eating dogs. At least there were no Slytherins to curse him or people to spread rumors about him. No Umbridge or Skeeter, either. There were bonuses to this place, he supposed. Harry sometimes liked to think as he walked.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended.

Thanks to my wonderful beta, Zyzyax.

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

"Left, right, left, left, left …" Harry stopped. There were three ancient looking doors. The left one had silver mandalas grafted in it. The right one had golden colored mandalas grafted in it. And the center one had black mandalas grafted in it, which somehow seemed alive to Harry. "How am I supposed to know which one is the biggest?"

In the end, Harry chose the door with the black mandalas and entered. The library was huge and also a maze. Harry groaned. He would have never have thought that finding a to-do list in a library would be a problem. He started walking, eyeing the bookshelves. How you were supposed to get a book from the higher shelves was a mystery to Harry. His eyes could not even see the end of the shelves, because of the dark mist near the ceiling. The books also did not use any language he recognized.

Finally, he entered the center of the library, which looked something like a study. There were a chair and desk and a sofa and a table with four chairs. On the desk was a note, which Harry took. The writing was plain, which he was thankful for. Elaborate handwriting always reminded him of Lockhart.

My master,

Practice your wandless magic.

I will take no excuse for not doing it.

Be ready for a test, and I expect you to do your best.

Good luck,

Death

Harry stared at the note. Death expected him to be able to do wandless magic. There was no way he could do that. He had tried that on Earth. He just was not capable of doing it. Well, no arguing with Death or else ... that was rather clear on the note. But how was he supposed to practice wandless magic, he had tried to do that after seeing the duel between Voldemort and Dumbledore with no luck.

He saw that the discussion with himself was going nowhere. Well, he could at least try to do wandless magic. And he tried a wandless levitation charm on the note. He didn't feel anything, not the slightest connection between his magic and note. His mind wandered back to his doubts.

He was about to give up when the note lifted for a moment before landing on the desk again. Harry was enthusiastic; he had never gotten that far. He tried, again and again. He was getting better at it. Suddenly, he felt the energy going through his body, his magic trying to get out. And finally, it won and lashed out. It was amazing, the feeling of magic inside and outside him. And the fact he also felt magic inside every little thing around him. The shadows connected to his magic making his magic more powerful. He felt… whole. He had never had that feeling in his life. At first, when he was eleven he thought that perhaps his heritage had been that, or that he had never had any friends growing up. But now he felt it, it was his magic. But he had thought that he always had magic.

Suddenly Harry felt Death entering the library. It was surprising to Harry that he could feel her. When Death got in the center of the library, she started clapping. Harry opened his eyes; he had not even noticed that he had closed them. Death was staring up at him, and at that Harry released that he was floating in the air. "What the …" and he landed on the ground, barely staying on two feet, gasping.

Death gently led him to the sofa. "What happened?" whispered Harry weakly once he was lying on the sofa. "You released your blocked magic and connected to the Elder Wand."

"But I destroyed the Elder Wand after the final battle," argued Harry.

"And that was the final step for you to become my Master," answered Death like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I don't understand." Death now watched the boy who would become her master. "By destroying the wand, you showed that you did not care for the power it would give you. Also, destroying it meant that you were the last owner of the Elder Wand and you actually didn't destroy the magic inside it, you just broke the tool containing it, making the magic go inside you."

Harry stared at Death. "But I didn't want it! I just wanted the line to end, the killings because of it to cease. That does not make me ... the Elder Wand can only be destroyed by who made it means by destroying that made the power of the Wand go in ... me, because ... I was the last master of it." Harry whispered the last part, making it barely hearable for Death.

"Correct," said Death inspecting Harry's reaction. Harry closed his eyes. "What about the Resurrection Stone? I left it in the Forbidden Forest." Asked Harry, already knowing he had lost the argument. He was still curious, though. The Dursleys hadn't quite stamped out that part of him.

"You destroyed the power of the Resurrection Stone over you by leaving it there. And the Resurrection Stone marked you as its equal and master." Death said gently wiping the tears from Harry's face. He hadn't even realized he was crying until that moment.

"What about the Cloak of Invisibility?" It was a last resort. He had used the cloak, though. It had been one of his favorite artifacts of all time. A truly wonderful piece of magic, even if he despised the fact that it made him the owner of one of the Hallows.

"You used it to survive for others more than yourself; it also marked you as its equal and master."

"Is the story of the three brothers true?" Questioned Harry.

"Partly," said Death leaning towards the sofa "I did make the Elder Wand, Resurrection Stone and Cloak of Invisibility, but I never gave them to someone specific, I put them all around the Earth. The three brothers liked to travel and Fate thought it funny if they would find all of the deathly hallows in their travels. And in the end I did agree about that, it was interesting to watch how my magic affected them."

"It destroyed them!" Shouted Harry, standing up and swaying a little. Death wanted to help him, but Harry stepped back.

"One only cared about power; the other didn't feel anything and third had to hide because his magical awareness senses were up. "

"They were too weak for them." Death had never seemed warm and fluffy, but that statement truly chilled him. He was average, normal, just Harry.

"And I am also too weak for them." It was a weak argument. The magic world had pitted him against a wizard far more powerful and older than him. Nobody cared if he couldn't meet the challenge, only that it wasn't them.

"Do you only care about power or feeling nothing or hiding from everything?"

"They haven't been with me long. Soon they will start affecting me." That was what he was afraid of. Becoming Voldemort. He was sure if the Mirror of Erised was here it would show him being the exact opposite of the wizard.

"You are in denial. There was only one thing you wanted from the beginning and that was family. You got fame, fortune, power and it is still the only thing you wanted was family. But life with Ginny didn't truly bring it to you, did it? You got children, who you loved, but not a family who would have cared for you as you cared for them. They always thought you as strong and independent, never seeing the other side. Even your closest friends, Hermione and Ron, thought so. Neville and Luna were closer to the truth, especially Luna."

"What am I to you? Your plaything?" Whispered Harry, collapsing on the floor. Of course, Death had watched his whole life. Knew things no one else did, the things he would prefer to stay hidden. Death crouched down next to Harry.

"What is the place you call home?"

"Hogwarts. What…"

"My home is here, where all the souls come. Always has been here. The beginning and ending. Peace. Everyone can heal here before moving into a next life. Life is not in my authority. Death is. And I am accepting it as should you. You have no power in the living world. If you have work on the planet you have a bit more sway in there, but once it's done, it's done and you have to move on. Perhaps never to return there."

"If life is not in your authority, why would I have to work there?"

"Disturbances caused by immortal beings also fall into my authority because Fate does not have power over them."

"Fate has authority over life? What does Fate do?"

"Yes. Normally, he just watches to make sure that the planet will not die. And that mortals would not cease existing. He may mitigate someone's fate sometimes or exacerbate fate for someone who he thinks deserves it. And he may play a little too, as he did with the three brothers, but nothing too significant. Before you jump to conclusions, Fate made your life better, not worse. He does not have full authority over livings as I have over dead."

"And what is your relationship with Fate?"

"We both are eternal, our magic does not exhaust the other. We are mostly like brother and sister, I suppose," said Death with an amused glance at Harry. "Now, if we are done investigating my relationship with Fate we should go on with training."

"Wait a minute, why did you create the Deathly Hallows?"

"Well, I have a lot of work and it would be nice to share it with someone. And I would like to have some company. Fate has also a lot of work, so he can't keep me company, the souls have to move on and they are usually boring, Hel can't be on my company for too long, even if it is longer than others, besides she belongs to the Norse society and does not care about the other galaxy's, same goes to Namo and many others who only care about their galaxy's, while I have to work everywhere."

"So for short I am here to keep you company and do some of the work," said Harry slowly, the information he had been receiving today started to make his head hurt. It was a lot to take in. He was a tired old man (even if he now looked seventeen again). Plus, he wasn't Hermione. She would have been great for this and she would have loved the library.

"No need to be so grim, there are benefits to that, which you will soon learn," said Death and then, added with a grin, "Besides, my company is not that bad." That was true. Draco would have been much worse, especially pre-war Draco. At least Death wasn't a stuck-up prick with a complex and daddy issues. Not that he could talk much, but still.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended.

Thanks to my wonderful beta, Zyzyax.

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

In the following months (Harry couldn't really tell, but he thought it was months), Harry trained and trained and trained. Death was a patient, but demanding, teacher. Wandless magic now came with ease to Harry. But that wasn't all Death taught Harry. Different types of martial arts, weapons training, etiquette, politics, history and also mathematics, science, and biology. It may seem fun and interesting in the beginning, but if you have over a thousand planets, every one of them with different styles, culture, and knowledge - it was hell. There were so many different species that biology and medicine became very subjective.

Also, Harry had problems with nightmares and his past, with his training he started to see more and more manipulation in his past than he had ever imagined. He may have thought of Albus Dumbledore as a grandfatherly figure, but now there only a bit of respect left. Everything, how he met Weasleys, Hagrid, his introduction to the wizarding world was planned down to the last detail. Slytherins were portrayed bad and evil, Gryffindors as the epitome of good and light and so on.

"Magic is limitless, regardless of what humans think. People are restricting themselves with their thoughts. Do not let expectations get better of you, dear reader. If you believe, anything is possible."

Mathilda Grey.

Harry closed the book with a sigh. Did Death expect him to just forget everything he had ever known? Harry was rubbing his eyes. Seriously he needed to find something better to call her, calling her Death was getting weird and annoying. Plus, it was difficult to have a coherent thought during conversations if he remembered he was talking to an immortal being.

"In." Death stepped in with her ridiculously beautiful looks. It wasn't a conventional beauty, to be sure, but her looks were quite something. Plus, she was ageless.

"Another council?"

"Yes," said Death, with a tired sigh.

"I take it that there are some problems."

"There are, how are you doing?"

"I just finished "The Origins of Magic" by Mathilda Grey"

"What do you think of it?"

"There may be a truth, but I am not ready to fully digest it."

"Then work on it." Death ended the conversation sharply and left the room.

Okay, that was clearly not the time to ask Death if there was another way to address her. Seriously, what was going on? Lately, Death had gotten more sharp and mysterious. Came suddenly, asked some questions and left, never giving anything away. Als,o his workload had gotten more and more work. He barely managed to do it. Harry put out the lights, lay on the soft bed and was out instantly.

Knock, knock. Harry groaned. He wanted to sleep. Knock. He got up and changed. "In," he growled. "You do remember that you don't need sleep. It's only recommended that you sleep 24 hours a year to keep you sane," said an amused figure in the doorway.

Harry watched the clock and groaned threw himself onto the bed. "You woke me up at three o'clock in the morning!"

"The time has little meaning to me, and you are the one with a clock. I have told you that it has no point in here and you should get used to it. Sleep only when you have to calm yourself. The clock only makes it harder!"

"Why are you here, Death? We spoke an hour ago."

"Do I have to remind you that time flows differently compared to other places I visit? For me, it has been 6 hours since I've seen you."

"Why are you here, Death?" Harry sighed, trying to rub tiredness off his eyes.

"Well, as you probably have noticed I have been busy lately. There are too many tries to take over the worlds where immortals are getting involved; with it also increases the number of deaths. And that has kept me busy. I am considering leaving the Scandinavian world to you."

Death had barely finished when Harry jumped out of the bed. "No, I disagree."

Death raised a highly amused eyebrow "And how are you going to stop me?"

Harry sputtered at that. Having calmed himself, he said "Are you serious? I am not ready!"

"You are ready enough for their problem. And if you die, you will end up at the same point where you were when you started the mission so you can repeat it as many times you want until you get it right."

"Was I not supposed to be your master, and giving you orders?" Harry wanted to take that back as the words escaped him. He carefully looked Death, who had her usual blank expression even if she had been starting to get warmer towards Harry, either because of Harry's presence or Harry had started to read her better, well at least she was not trying to bite his head off because of the idea, thought Harry; he really should learn to keep his mouth shut.

"Do you wish to do so?" There was a silence as Harry thought over the question.

"No," admitted Harry.

"Your title is Master of Death because you have the ability to master my magic, be in my presence as long as you wish. Not order me around," said Death grinning, but seeing Harry's faraway look he stopped. "I am not going to order you around either." Her voice was gentle. "You are not a prisoner here."

"You asked how I was going to stop you from sending me to deal with the Scandinavian world."

"Correct. Your training is incomplete, but that doesn't mean you can't great chaos."

"Even if I do create chaos, would it convince you not to send me there?" Said Harry, with defeated sight. He wasn't proud of this moment, but he really didn't want to be 'The Saviour' again and again.

"No. Now to business." Death handled out the files to Harry, who accepted them. "In the red one is a long description of the problem, the blue one has a history of problems in that planet, the green one has a history of that planet, and the yellow one has magical community's and knowledge on it."

"How long do I have and does anyone know of my mission?"

"A week, Thor and Loki may acknowledge you and may not, it depends on how observant they are. I don't think you will see any other Asgardians there, but you should be ready to deal with any situation that rises."

"How would you deal with those things if I was not here? You said they could not be in your presence," wondered Harry.

"I can delay death a little or make it quicker. Make people have certain dreams, Fate can do that too, but I can do that to immortals and Fate can't. You will learn it in future."

Death started to leave when Harry called out a question. "Wait, the first time you were there, when we met, why didn't I collapse?"

"It was an illusion of me, I was not truly there."

Harry nodded in acceptance and Death left. Harry read the files. Glad that this word resembled his old word with the exception of wizards and witches, but they had some kind of superheroes with powers. And high technology, which Harry had not faced in his world, because the wizards on his planet had nothing to do with it. Higher technology combined magic and science and was dangerous to deal with. With a heavy sigh, Harry started to research and plan.

...

A week later

Harry was wearing black clothes, a cloak with a hood to cover his face. He had decided it to be the best clothing to help him remain a mystery at least some of the time. He walked to the 'world's room' as he had started to call it. It had paintings of every dimension Death was guarding. At first, it had been dizzying, to think of the responsibility he now shared. He wondered what he was now. Certainly not human, or at least not fully. Death had taught him how to use this room. She used it for her own travels.

He stepped through the right painting which depicted the Scandinavian world and chose the earth as his landing place. The painting was beautiful. The situation? Not so much He stepped through once more and started to swirl and spin. His nausea built as the process went on. Damn, it was worse than a portkey.

...

Germany

Harry stumbled as his feet touched the ground. He cursed, without the training he had received; his feet would be broken by the force with which he landed on the ground. And his head was still spinning; the problem with his half-completed training was that he would not be able to focus enough to direct the place he would be landing. At least he had not landed in the Atlantic Ocean or in a volcano or landed on top of someone, which, with his luck, was very possible.

"...the unspoken truth of humanity, that you crave subjugation. The bright lure..." As Harry heard that, he turned his head towards the voice. Shit, he swore as he quickly hides behind the car. Luckily, he had not been seen. Of course, if it was not the ocean or volcano, he would meet one of the two people on this planet who would be able to know who or what he was. And by the looks of it, he was making a speech about world domination and the natural place for the mundane people. By his looks and actions, it was probably Loki, as Thor was supposedly in love with a mundane girl and would not be making a speech about controlling mundane people. And by the looks of it, Loki like Tom Riddle liked to hear himself talk.

"...be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel."

Harry cloaked his magic as he should have done in the beginning; it was a miracle that Loki had been so busy with his speech that he had not noticed him.

Suddenly an elder man stood up and said, "Not to men like you." Harry watched as Loki slowly turned to the elderly man, wishing that the wizards in his home planet had had the courage and strength to do that, not expect a teenager boy to save them all.

Loki looked pissed. "There are no men like me," he snapped. Harry would have snorted. This guy was like Voldemort all over again.

"There are always men like you." The elder man answered.

The respect Harry had for the elder man rose more as he spoke. His words carried truth, but to stand still and strong when you faced supernatural human and you had no power was inspiring, and again Harry wished the wizards had been like the elderly man in front of Loki. He would not have had to grow up in the misery, perhaps had a danger-free Hogwarts years... It was all a nice thought, but useless.

"Look to your elder, people. Let him be an example."

Loki was already starting to point the scepter to the elder man, but Harry had enough, it was time to start his job.

"But you must admit, he is right." Harry's calm behavior was very different from his past. Death had seen to that. Even if he still had some problems with it.

Loki turned in his surprise to Harry, who was taking long strides towards him with unnatural elegance. "Who are you to question me. I am Loki..."

"I know your name. I know where you were born. I know who your parents are. But the question is, do you really know who you are?"

Loki was turned speechless for a moment, but Harry saw the anger starting to grow in his eyes. And who knows what would have happened if Captain America had not appeared.

The people run away. In the midst of that, Steve started to make his own speech "You know, the last time I was in Germany and saw a man standing above everybody else, we ended up disagreeing."

Honestly, what was up with the speeches, thought Harry. Well, at least it gives the people time to escape. They were making a triangle. Steve's main attention was to Loki but he was also watching Harry with caution. Loki was eying both of them warily. And Harry was holding his on both of them and surroundings for in case should anyone would else enter the game.

Steve tried to understand the situation. Loki was known to him, but the stranger in black was a mystery. His clothing was a bit different from the surrounding people, but not too eccentric and he seemed too calm to be a normal person in a wrong place at the wrong time. His musings were disturbed by Loki, who had come to a decision to ignore the stranger unless he interfered with his plans.

"The soldier. A man out of time," said Loki.

"I'm not the one who's out of time," said Steve.

"Without the right context the questions are not comparable," sighed Harry, wanting to bang his head against the wall. Both Steve and Loki turned inquiry to Harry, who said: "Your words are out of context." Stave and Loki still staring at him, Harry added, "You are both from different planets, where the time flows differently. How are you comparing different times to one another?"

"Who the hell are you?" Asked Steve.

At that moment, a quinjet arrived and a machine gun was pointed at Loki. Natasha declared, "Loki, drop the weapon and stand down." Loki sent a blast towards the quinjet and started to fight with Steve. Harry stepped out of the war zone and watched the fight. He didn't wish to interfere unless someone was about to die. There were enough hotheads as it was in this lot. Plus, pissing people off was a bad idea.

Harry could see Tony Stark or Iron Man, as he was called, in the sky. But his attention was on Loki's scepter. It wasn't from Asgard or Earth. The blue light was from somewhere else. It had a different aura, with a source Harry could not place. It had some power over Loki, a subtle slowly directing Loki's thoughts to achieve the goal. But what was it? It was more insidious than the imperious.

Harry turned his attention back to the scene; Loki had surrendered, for whatever reason. Harry could not tell why. He didn't read minds. Rather, he wasn't going to tussle with the force in Loki's head. As everyone was making their way to the quinjet, it was clear that Harry had been forgotten. Silently, Harry slipped in. He used magic to avoid the scanners. He wanted to observe. Recklessly charging had cost him, after all.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended.

Thanks to my wonderful beta, Zyzyax.

* * *

 **Chapter 6**

Harry watched in the shadows as Tony and Steve argued with each other. Joining in would be pointless and add to the overall intensity of the atmosphere. Plus, he was supposed to be subtle now. Harry made an attempt to tune back into the conversation. Steve was worried that it had been too easy, and, as far as Harry was concerned, he was right. Loki was strong and that was not including the presence and the man's cunning. That had been far too easy, but Tony was not at all concerned. He was talking nonsense and throwing in random facts, facts that were not important, and making the entire conversation ridiculous. The fact that Steve only knew basic things about the modern world made it seem more faddish than it actually was to him. What Steve didn't understand, and what Harry knew, was that it was a way for Tony to manage stress that didn't involve alcohol. Those two were not going to stop arguing anytime soon, and they were now going in circles. Harry decided to turn his focus elsewhere.

Natasha, if Harry's vision was correct, was observing Loki and making it quite obvious. It seemed that she was not at all concerned about him also observing her as a spy should have been. Secrecy was usually of the utmost importance to a spy, but working here might have changed that, especially with Tony using his abilities as a computer genius and hacking into SHEILD's databases regularly. It could also be a power play, he mused. She wants him to think she isn't afraid. Then again, Harry supposed it could also be desperation. He would be the first to tell you that desperation to prevent a war could lead to vast amounts of mistakes and stupidity all around. The wizarding world was, is, and had been a prime example of that, upon reflection. Harry moved out of his musings and examined his surroundings once again.

From the corner of Harry's eye, he could see Nick Fury entering the scene. The man reminded him of Moody, even though he wasn't magical and didn't have the peg-leg or the whirring eye. Paranoid that one, but with good reason, he supposed. Fury probably didn't make a whole lot of friends in his line of work. Harry could appreciate the direct approach, but he knew it would rub some the wrong way. The man was middling in terms of using force. He could hold back if necessary but would give a kill order if push came to shove. Fury's eyes continuously scanned the room with same constant, unending vigilance that Moody would prize and that he hadn't possessed until the end of the war. Yes, Nick Fury could run and hide as well as stand and fight. He would do well in Slytherin. Harry smirked at the thought.

Harry felt Thor coming closer just before thunder hit the sky. The man's power buzzed across his senses like the thunder entity he was. Well, it seemed like everyone here liked to make grand entrances; Thor wasn't even trying to hide his coming to Earth. He knew he had once been arrogant, but, now, he tried not to be, at the very least. Harry had been young, but what was Thor's excuse? He was far older than Harry had been. Harry had a half a mind to scold Thor for it, but as amusing as it would have been to watch Thor's expression when a seemingly regular seventeen-year-old boy was berating him, it was not his mission. Harry was supposed to keep things in check, not stir them up. At least, not too much. Besides, Harry actually preferred peace and quiet and pissing off Thor would not get one peace and quiet. Though Death basically allowed him to create chaos within reason, there was one thing Death had not managed to cure Harry of yet: it was his wish to stay in the background. All his life, he had wanted to be just himself, not in the spotlight, not the-boy-who-lived, just Harry. Thor could wait. Harry was going to listen in to this next part. It would probably yield more than Tony and Steve's bicker match.

"Say anything?" Fury asked.

"Not a word," was Natasha's curt answer.

Lighting almost hit the jet, making Harry rethink his decision not to scold the immortal being. The man could have easily killed the men and women aboard. Honestly, didn't Asgardian's have mandatory classes on this stuff? It was common knowledge that humans were closer to eggshells than stones in terms of biology. Seriously, whatever reason he was on Earth, it had clouded his senses. Making everyone aware of his presence was not a good place to start, even when making a grand entrance. Some immortals disliked when others came into or near their territory. Some, like Death, were hypersensitive to the Bifrost and it could cause them pain. Everyone looked oblivious to that, well almost everyone as Loki was trying not to cringe at the thunder.

"Where's this coming from?"

Well, it seems that in recruiting people to fight Loki, they had forgotten to mention Thor and his power, an oversight like that could easily be used against them. Idiots, he was surrounded by dramatic idiots. Great, now he was starting to sound like Snape.

"What's the matter? Scared of a little lightning?" Steve had noticed Loki cringing.

"I'm not overly fond of what follows."

Thor made an entrance and was starting to grab Loki by the throat. Harry had observed enough. He flashed out of the shadows and stood in front of Thor. Now, he was mildly angry. "For an immortal being, you are rash and imprudent. In all your life has nobody explained you the balance between power and peace, magic and mind, black and white and so on?"

Shit, he had not said that, had he? What happened with the idea to be cautious and think things through before acting? Right now, he was no better than Thor. Okay a bit better, he knew what he was standing against and had had the element of surprise, but still. Scolding thunder gods was not on his list of safe, ordinary life options. Everyone had fallen silent and they were now gaping at Harry. Even the thunder had calmed down. The shock would do that. Harry guessed Thor had not been scolded much in his life.

Tony broke the silence. "You scolded Thor. I think you are my new favorite person." Everyone except Thor, Loki, and Tony pointed their weapons towards Harry and Thor.

"Whoa, whoa you don't want to kill my favorite person, right?" Tony comes closer, hands raised, a gesture of peace. Harry wondered what the man saw that made him not worry about him. Or perhaps Stark just had no self-preservation instinct.

"Another two Asgardians?" asked Steve.

Harry did not correct the man and Thor was too busy staring at him to correct that assumption. The man seemed to be trying to come up with something. A response? His identity? Harry feared that Thor might suspect who he was, but it seemed that he had just been completely shocked. Well, Odin was probably the only one who had scolded him for a very long time. So far, still undercover.

"Anyway, would you please take your companion," he gestured at Loki "and his magic play and return to Asgard. I have enough problems without it." Harry spoke in a high cold voice. Harry normally didn't care for bullying and he didn't enjoy intimidation, but he had already started a show, why not to continue? Everyone shivered, even Loki and Thor were uncomfortable. Besides, this Earth really didn't need any more problems, especially not Asgardians. They tended to cause mass destruction and these humans were not advanced enough to repair it in any kind of convenient time.

"Stop the shenanigans and explain," demanded Fury.

"You hide secrets from everybody and yet you expect others to tell you everything?" Harry snapped, almost growling the words. The entire room flinched. Harry knew he was leaking, oozing power, but felt a flash of cold rage at the reminder of Dumbledore. He'd had enough manipulation for this life and any other.

"He has a point," Tony interjected. Furry growled at him and turned his attention back to Harry.

"My responsibility is to take care of this country." The man stated with a calm, deadly demeanor and a quiet pride.

"Your self-imposed task?" Harry's voice was back to high cold and chilling everybody. Even though Harry had yet to notice that fact, he was so used to Death and her coldness that he had started to imitate her tone and mannerisms.

"Could we break that conversation and concentrate on the situation?" asked Steve.

That had Thor speaking again. "I am here to take Loki back to his home and also bring Tesseract."

Ah, Infinity Stones - a creation of Cosmic Entities as they were called in the Scandinavian world. Six Infinity Stones to hold the Scandinavian world together, representing six aspects of the universe: space, mind, reality, power, soul and time. Well, that explained Loki's scepter - a mind stone. But who was controlling the mind stone, it certainly wasn't Loki as it was influencing his mind a bit too much for that.

"I have no home," said Loki at the same time Fury snapped out, "You are not taking the Tesseract with you."

"It belongs to Asgard," Thor argued right back.

"It belongs to nowhere," Harry interjected, wanting to prevent interplanetary warfare. Do they even know what the Tesseract is? Harry mentally griped. Even if it did represent space, it still had the power to corrupt the minds of people. Harry didn't want to come close to the stones, even if he was Master of Death, and Death was one of the four Cosmic Entities who had created the Infinity Stones. He still was wary of the stones, though he probably could control at least one. They were not meant to wielded as weapons.

"The huge one is Thor from Asgard. There is no file in S.H.I.E.L.D about you, Green Eyes." Tony said, with a faint smirk. Harry thought he resembled a cat that got a canary.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to hack into S.H.I.E.L.D databases?" Fury snapped, glaring at Tony.

"A couple more. So who are you, Green Eyes?" Tony made an eye contact with Harry.

"You just named me, Green Eyes, obviously." Harry grinned. It was the sort of retort Fred would like. Tony was now looking at him with a very hungry sort of curiosity.

"How have you been avoiding S.H.I.E.L.D?" Ah, that voice belonged to Natasha. Harry would almost be fond of her if her curiosity was not impeding his ability to just fade out of their minds. He had hoped to be lost in the confusion, but it was far too late at this juncture. Plus, he had contributed to that.

"Who says I have been avoiding it? Though, I prefer not to make myself a living target " said Harry and raised an eyebrow at Thor, who looked a little sheepish. He should be. Harry thought rather savagely. The man could have killed at least eight people for his own vanity. Not to mention, that Asgardians were not known for their ability to contain conflict in one world.


End file.
